Where’re Yo’ People’s From?!? (WYPF)

Genealogy as Resistance

Established: 2023
Observance: Fall (September–November)
Duration: Eight Weeks
Research Methodology: Ancestor Reunification Methodology (ARM)

Each autumn, The Afatasi Universe turns toward ancestry as a living source of cultural continuity.

Where’re Yo’ People’s From?!? is an ongoing lineage research initiative created by Afatasi that combines original genealogical research, archival investigation, civic education, and contemporary art to reconnect San Francisco’s Great Migration community with their ancestral histories.

Working as the initiative’s lead researcher, Afatasi developed the Ancestor Reunification Methodology (ARM)—an original research framework that reconstructs family histories through historical records, public archives, migration patterns, and policy research. The methodology transforms complex genealogical research into accessible family knowledge, allowing participants to understand not only who their ancestors were, but how their lives were shaped by the historical forces that continue to influence their communities today.

Each participant receives an original lineage report based on Afatasi’s research before creating a personalized family relic and genealogy book designed to become an inheritable family archive. Together, these objects preserve knowledge that can be expanded and passed from one generation to the next.

The curriculum integrates genealogy, United States policy, archival literacy, oral history, reparations education, and community dialogue to help participants understand both their individual family histories and the broader historical conditions that shaped San Francisco’s Great Migration community.

Since its founding, the initiative has produced more than 350 original lineage reports, making it one of the most extensive community-based genealogy research initiatives focused on a single lineage community in San Francisco.

More than a genealogy initiative, Where’re Yo’ People’s From?!? demonstrates that research itself can become an act of cultural restoration.

Every family carries knowledge worth preserving.
Every ancestor deserves to be remembered.
Every generation deserves to inherit the story that made them possible.

This observance returns each year as part of the Celestial Calendar of The Afatasi Universe.